the death toll inkal campbell. syrian troops are on the offensive in the country's third city, homs, recapturing many areas from what they say are foreign fighters and extremist muslims. rebels they say directly armed by arab states. in one district they took they showed us what they said was an abandoned rebel headquarters. bags with saudi arabian markings scattered around. a makeshift scaffold with ropes and a meat hook was there. they said rebels tortured and hanged people here. we have no way of proving is. the u.n. mostly accuses the regime of mass torture but says rebels are guilty of human rights abuses too. but it's clear this is a dirty war here in homs and in every city. no one is safe. no faith is spared. christian churches and muslim mosques are battleground. but one man is an optimist, the new governor of homs, syria's third city. these rebels he says will be beaten and we'll win the war in homs in one month. >> reporter: one month, that seems very optimistic. one month he insists. but britain and amer